Beware Rust

Early this Spring, our house suffered the damages from a broken water pipe, which lead to the evacuation of my tying room to the garage. While most of my worry was for my modest collection of books, I should have paid a bit of attention to my tying tools as well.

This past weekend, after what seemed like an endless summer of lawn mowing, I got to tie a few flies. Just enough to satisfy my entry into a swap, but enough to make it a "session" in the sense that I had to negotiate for family-time-off and had to actually think about what I was doing. When it came time to wrap some thread, I noticed a few tiny rust spots on the head of my faithful Renzetti. Aughh!!!! After a trip to the garage for a quick disassembly and cleaning/lube, and I was back in business. WD40 is wonderful stuff - no homeowner should be without a can or two.

Word to the wise - if you have put your tying stuff in storage for awhile - try to find suitable arrangements for your vice. Most vices have jaws made from tool steel which could rust if exposed to wet air for a period of time. The cost and inconvenience of replacement or repair is far more than the annoyance of storing it safely in a dresser drawer or some other dry place until order has been restored.